[76] This conclusion is based upon the statements of Negroes that white people have entered their stores apparently to buy, but beat a retreat upon finding a Negro in charge. Two Negro proprietors employed white workmen to call at residences, etc., in the operation of their businesses while they kept in the background. The writer traced out cases of refusals to rent places to Negro firms. Some of the incidents would be amusing if they were not tragic.
CHAPTER IV[ToC]
Some Sample Enterprises
In the first chapters on Negro business enterprises, the several classes of establishments were described in order to present a picture of business among Negroes as a whole. A more concrete idea of the organization and operation of these enterprises, as well as of the proprietors who own and operate them, may be gained from detailed descriptions of selected establishments of each kind. These have been chosen as representing a fair type of the classes to which they belong. On some points there may be wide variations, but each class as a whole is fairly represented by those detailed.
1. INDIVIDUALS AND PARTNERSHIPS
Establishment No. 1 was a barber shop started in 1898, and moved once to the present address eleven years before. The proprietor was born in Savannah, Georgia, had resided in New York City for about twenty years, and was a journeyman barber before starting his own shop. He employed four barbers besides himself, paying each barber between forty and fifty per cent of his receipts. This shop was about 12 feet by 40 feet, and the rental was $30.00 per month. The estimated value of his tools and fixtures was about $700.00, and the estimated gross receipts of his business were $3,500.00 in 1907 and $4,000.00 in 1908. The proprietor kept a cash-book which he balanced once a week. He started his enterprise with one chair, bought with savings from his earnings as a barber. He did a strictly cash business. His customers were Negroes only, although he kept a first-class, cleanly place, was in a district where there were a large number of small white business establishments and some white tenants, and bought his supplies from a white firm.
No. 2. This was a barber shop established in 1890, had moved twice, and had been located at the last address four years. The proprietor called himself "the pioneer" as he visited New York City in 1856-7 and had been living here 32 years in 1909, coming from Calvert County, Maryland. He had worked as a barber in a shop run for white customers, and by this means saved money to set up for himself in Mott Haven some years before opening in New York. He employed one additional barber, had a shop about 12 feet by 28 feet, for which he was paying $35.00 rent. His tools and fixtures were worth about $200.00, and his gross receipts amounted to about $900.00 in 1907 and about $850.00 in 1908. He used a cash-book and occasionally credited customers, although he paid cash for supplies from a white firm. His shop was located in a distinctly Negro neighborhood and all his customers were Negroes.